Tag Archives: alcohol

I suffer complete and total bar invisibility. I am not exactly someone who fades into the background, but to a bartender, I might as well be an empty stool. I have gone as long as 45 minutes without having a single server come near me, even the ones I truly attempt to make eye contact with. Not only that, but I have gone 45 minutes without being served in a NEARLY EMPTY BAR. Sometimes I wonder if I just look wrong, or my body language is wrong. I try to imitate the people around me, hanging out at the bar, making eye contact. Nothing.

And he’s right! And much of the coverage is WRONG. Thank you to Thomas for pointing me in the right direction! He helpfully linked me to the BBC coverage (where the scientist corrected the interviewer), and then I got my hands on the paper. He pointed me, and now I can point you!

And the best part of this paper? It’s not about PEOPLE AT ALL! It’s not even really about how to get attention in bars! This paper? It’s not about you. We just all wanted it to be.

Loth et al. “Automatic detection of service initiation signals used in bars” Frontiers in Psychology, 2013.

Sci happened to be Pubmedding the word “vomit”* today when she ran across this article. It’s one of those articles that is weird because it’s. So. Obvious. Mallett et al. “Do We Learn from Our Mistakes? An Examination of the Impact of Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences on College Students’ Drinking Patterns and Perceptions” J Stud Alcohol. 2006
That’s right. The study of vomiting, hangovers, blackouts, and other stupid stuff you did in college.

(Including when you wore this shirt around because you wanted to be as cool as this guy)
Actually, this paper does have some interesting correlations for people who study alcoholism and binge drinking, but for the moment, it’s about drunk college students. We’ll get to the rest of it at the end.
*What, like you don’t Pubmed “‘vomit”‘ or “clitoris” or “ejaculation” all the time?! Admit it, you do. And then you giggle.